Eating in Rouen
Restaurant Al'1, on a leafy square under the facade of the cathedral (next door to the Hôtel Cardinal), is the place for a hearty salad (enormous €9 salads — sorry, no splitting, Mon–Fri 12:00–15:30 & 19:00–22:00, closed Sat–Sun, indoor/outdoor seating, slick and efficient service, 3 place de la Cathédrale).
Crêperie le St. Romain, between the cathedral and St. Maclou Church, is a good budget option. It's run by a welcoming, eager-to-please owner, Mr. Pegis, who serves filling €7 crêpes with small salads (lunch Tue-Sat, dinner Thu-Sat, closed Sun-Mon, 52 rue St. Romain, tel. 02 35 88 90 36).
Two of Rouen's best moderately priced restaurants face place du Vieux Marché, across from the Joan of Arc Church. Le Maupassant is a jolly place, with an outdoor terrace and three lively floors filled with red-velvet booths and appreciative locals; it's famous for its moelleux au chocolate — melted chocolate over ice cream and cake (regional menus from €19, daily, 39 place du Vieux Marché, tel. 02 35 07 56 90). Le Terre-Neuvas is best for seafood (menus from €17, daily, 3 place du Vieux Marché, tel. 02 35 71 58 21).
L'Auberge St. Maclou, in a red-timbered building next to St. Maclou Church, is quiet and intimate, offering reasonable regional menus from €13 (closed Mon year-round and on Sun July-Feb, 222 rue St. Martainville, tel. 02 35 71 06 67).
Restaurant les Nymphéas is your chance to dress up for white-tablecloth elegance and extremely attentive service, and yet still not go broke. Named for Monet's water lilies, the restaurant carries an ambience more modern than ye olde, but it does offer the option of women's menus (without prices), a throwback to an earlier time when ladies weren't supposed to know what their dates were paying. The €36 menu offers four fine courses with plenty of choices. Expect to pay €20 for half a bottle of wine (dinner from 19:30, Tue-Thu menu option at €28, closed Sun–Mon, reservations smart, a block beyond place du Vieux Marché at 7 rue de la Pie, tel. 02 35 89 26 69). Only French is spoken in this formal setting, adding a touch of adventure to the experience.
Flunch hangs at the other end of the extreme, with not a tablecloth or candle in sight. Here, you'll find family-friendly, cheap, point-and-shoot, cafeteria-style meals in a fast-food setting (€4 salad bar; menu with salad bar, main course, and drink for €8; good kids' menu, open daily until 22:00, a block from cathedral at 66 rue des Carmes, tel. 02 35 71 81 81).
For picnics, try the morning open-air markets (closed Mon) or any small grocery store. The Monoprix has a large supermarket (Mon-Sat 8:30-21:00, closed Sun, on rue du Gros Horloge). Several late-night mini-markets are on rue de la République between rue St. Romain and rue de l'Hôpital (open until 24:00).
Rouen's best bakery is Paul's. It's always jammed, and it's a joy, even if you're only looking (corner of rue Jeanne d'Arc and rue Rollon, a block above rue du Gros Horloge).